Shattered Mirrors
by Silver Sailor Ganymede
Summary: MinakoNepherina. “Finally,” the demon’s ice like voice rasped. “I have you, beautiful Venus.” She raised a claw like hand and ran it across Minako’s cheek. “I have you in my grasp.”


Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

Shattered Mirrors  
By Silver Sailor Ganymede

Everything had gone wrong that day, Minako thought as she walked into her room and sat down on her bed. Everything had gone as completely, utterly and entirely wrong as it ever could. She had failed again; after all, the goddess of love _had _to be cursed never to love, didn't she?

Minako felt tears well up in her eyes as she remembered. Asai had always told her he loved her, always; now, however, she had figured out the truth… he had never loved her, _never_: perhaps, she mused, it was just bad luck: but perhaps it had something to do with the mirrors…

Ever since the supposed defeat of Nepherina, all those years ago, Minako had been seeing faces in her mirrors… faces that bore an uncanny resemblence to the long vanquished leader of the Dead Moon. Then there had been the dreams: those bitter nightmares in which the dark one had come to her and did things that Minako refused to even allow herself to remember.

She shuddered and the memory and wiped the tears from her face. No, those dreams and hallucinations had nothing to do with Asai; Nepherina had, after all, been defeated years ago: there was no way she could have returned, was there? No, Asai's infidellity was nothing more than her own stupid fault: she had been too clingy and immature for him, she knew: why couldn't she just let it go?

She shook her head and looked up at her mirror: at first she saw her own face staring back at her with bloodshot cerulean eyes, but soon it began to mutate. Her large, azure eyes became golden and cat like and her usually golden hair was a waterfall of pure darkness. Her skin had faded from its usually rosiness to a washed out, almost dead look, and her mouth was curved up in a sneer. The face that stared back at her was not her own; it was the face of Nepherina. Minako felt terror for a split second, but she turned away from the mirror and stared out of the window. It was then that she saw that there was a full moon that night. She stared tore her eyes away from the silver orb of the moon and stared back at the mirror. Nepherina's face was still there, still wearing the same sadistic smirk that Minako had seen so many times during her nightmares.

"Come to me," a voice whispered. Minako's eyes grew wider and she began to tremble in fear. Shadows writhed on the walls, entrapped as they were in a prison between the moonlight and the darkness, and the voice came again, "come to me, Venus."  
Minako felt her muscles seaze up; she was now so scared she was physically unable to move: or at least she should have been. She felt a magnetic-like force pulling her from where she was sitting and towards the mirror. She tried with all her might to struggle away, but the force held her tight and continued streering her towards the demonic reflection.

"Come to me," the voice whispered again, and this time Minako knew that it was the demonic queen of nightmares who spoke to her. "Come to me or else I shall come to you."

As Minako stood, petrified, longing to run but unable to do so, the surface of the mirror began to change. It wavered for a moment, then the figure from the mirror materialised in Minako's room.

"Finally," the demon's ice like voice rasped. "I have you, beautiful Venus." She raised a claw like hand and ran it across Minako's cheek. "I have you in my grasp."

With that she grabbed the terrified girl: Minako tried to move away, but she was unable to and the demon's lips were pressed forcefully to her own. She felt utter revulsion as Nepherina's tongue forced its way into her mouth; she tasted so bitter. Bitter like the darkness that had poisoned her so: but it was not the bitterness that terrified her: it was the fact that the nightmarish woman seemed to be drawing something more from Minako than she would ever had expected; she seemed to be attempting to steal her very soul away from her.

After what seemed like an eterinity, Nepherina finally drew away from Minako, but she still didn't loose the girl from her grasp.

"Finally, I have you," she hissed. "I have you right where I want you, just as I did eons ago. Have you ever wondered why you are never to love? I cursed you to that fate, my dear child, for if your beauty is not mine, it shall be no one's. But now I have you, Venus, and you are mine _forever_."

Minako was beyond puzzled; whatever did she demon mean? She did not, however, have time to think on that, for Nepherina kissed her again, even more violently this time. Minako felt nothing less than pure agony: it was as though the very darkness of Chaos itself had invaded her soul. She felt pain beyond imagination sear through her body: then, quite suddenly, it stopped. She could feel nothing… nothing. Then she saw only darkness and felt only heartwrenching cold as the queen of nighmares took her soul from her body and entrapped her in the world of mirrors forever. With that her beautiful body, now so much like that of a broken doll, fell to the floor, lifeless forevermore.

* * *

Rei stood in Mianko's room, tears clouding her normally cold, violet eyes. The moonlight was the only source of light there, but Rei didn't care. She had just had to come here one last time; she still could not believe Minako was dead. No one knew why the senshi of Venus had died like that: even Pluto had no inkling as to why. She had been alive and fine one day… the next she had been dead.

Rei stared around the room: seeing it like this only made everything seem even more surreal. Minako was gone but her room was untouched, just as it had been before… when she was still alive. Then the moonlight reflected off something and caught Rei's eye. On one wall, near Minako's bed, was a huge mirror: under the mirror are bloodlike stains; that was where Minako's body was found.

She looked into the mirror again and was astounded by what she saw. In the mirror was Minako's face, but her eyes were no longer smiling; they were broken and her skin had taken on the blue-ish hue of moonlight… of death.

"Help me," the reflection mouthed, "help me."

Then another figure appeared behind Minako: Nepherina, the queen of the Dead Moon. Rei's eyes widened in shock and horror. The dark queen smiled sadisticly at the soldier of Mars, took Mianko's head in her hands and forcefully kissed her. A tear fell down Minako's cheek, then the mirror shattered. Minako was lost to them forever.


End file.
